In cumulative voting, voters cast as many votes as there are seats. But
unlike winner-take-all systems, voters are not limited to giving only
one vote to a candidate. Instead, they can put multiple votes on one or
more candidates. For instance, in an election for a five-seat body,
voters could choose to give one vote each to five candidates, two votes
to one candidate and three to another, or all five votes to a single
candidate. If a members of minority group work together and get behind a
single candidate, "plumping" all of their votes on him or her, they can
hope to get someone elected, even if they only make up a small share of
the population. Voting rights scholar Lani Guinier has promoted
cumulative voting as a colorblind means to provide fair minority
representation.